Lorraine Hicks is fourteen-years-old when she watches her best friend, Beverly climb into a tree in the forest and never come back down. It’s a mystery that haunts her small town and embeds itself in Lorraine's life.
Fifteen years later, Lori is a grown woman, doing her best to move on from her troubled childhood. She reluctantly agrees to a night of camping, despite her secret terror of the woods. As she sits by a roaring bonfire, a man stands and tells the story of two fourteen-year-old friends who walked into the Manistee National Forest-only one of them walked back out.
The story is hauntingly similar to Lori’s own, and she embarks on a quest to discover if the two disappearances are linked.
As she unravels the truth behind the vanishings, she unearths a malevolence that forces her to question if evil truly exists.
Don’t miss this chilling paranormal murder mystery.
J.R. Erickson writes novels that blend murder mysteries with haunted houses. Her Northern Michigan Asylum series are novels of paranormal suspense inspired by a real former asylum in Traverse City. Her current books, the Troubled Spirits series, are all inspired by real crimes, which she covers in her true crime podcast, Bitter Endings.
Jacki is a lifelong lover of all things spooky, and started penning scary stories in childhood. She grew up in Mason, Michigan and is a graduate of Michigan State University with a B.A. in Psychology. These days, Jacki resides near Traverse City, Michigan with her husband, son, and three cats.
Part of it is that the author creates a very compelling main character. Lori is strong when it counts, but he is also a victim of trauma; her life was defined for what happened that afternoon when she was fourteen. She survives, but not unscathed and her... kind of inertia is part of the price she paid. This is why seeing her 'wake up' when she is suddenly faced with with the story of another 14 years old girl who went missing in the same woods is haunting but also a thing of beauty.
I enjoyed the dichotomy between hers and Ben's approach to the investigation of the missing girls and how we also find ourselves oscillating between believing that there is a very human perpetrator out there, predating on young girls or that the woods are home to a witch who feeds of little girls.
By know, everybody knows that I love this author's stories, and this one is not exception. Learning that it was based in a true story adds an extra chill. If you love paranormal thrillers you shouldn't miss this story.
Amy Deuchler does a wonderful job narrating this book.
This was a wonderful creepy read. The plot alone was a fascinating subject because how does one truly climb up a tree and never return. Where could they go? Fourteen years after her friend never returns down a tree, heroine Lori comes to the realization her story of that awful day is more common than she thought. Over the years many girls have gone missing in the Manistee Forest and somehow all their stories are connected. The story becomes both a detective novel and thriller as Lori and new friend Ben dig deep into the history of the woods. From urban legends to suspicions about local town creeps, no stone is left unturned. Lori has never gotten over losing her friend and she’ll face her deepest fears if it’ll protect another innocent girl. Sometimes looking into the past can be dangerous and bring up old wounds. This is something Lori will have to learn more than once if she ever hopes to leave the woods alive and put this mystery to bed. Really great read that kept up a steady creepy vibe till the very end. Perfect spooky season read!
There were several points in this book that I really thought I’d give this a 5 star rating. I liked the two MCs - Ben especially. Lori had her quirks, but I saw her grow stronger throughout the book. Ultimately though, there were things that really bothered me.
At the beginning Lori is 14, and her best friend disappears while they’re out exploring the woods. Then we’re brought to present day where she is now 29. Her boyfriend gets her to go on a camping trip with him and a bunch of his coworkers. We’re introduced to a lot of people who have absolutely no bearing on the story. It was overwhelming and unnecessary to name all these superfluous characters. They are never mentioned again after this camping trip. During this trip, one guy (probably the only character who was worth naming in this whole thing) tells a true story of his friend Ben’s sister whose BFF disappeared while they were walking in the woods. It’s so similar to Lori’s story that she asks him for his friend’s name and number. This leads Lori to meeting Ben.
We’re told that Lori lives in Mount Pleasant, and multiple times she states that it is an hour drive to her mother’s house in Clare. I didn’t question this. She contacts and meets Ben, who also lives in Clare. My issue with this is that she and Ben text back and forth and oftentimes they are saying, “I’ll be right there.” What? It’s an hour’s drive away! Also, there’s one scene where Ben is riding his bicycle and just shows up at Lori’s apartment. Really? He rode his bike a distance that is so far that it takes an hour to get there by car? So I looked it up on the internet. It turns out that Mount Pleasant and Clare are only 15 miles apart. How this translates to an hour by car is beyond me. It is, however, close enough that I could see Ben riding his bicycle there (this would take about an hour). The author is even from Michigan and is in no doubt familiar with this information.
As much as that bothered me, the part that made me knock off stars is where Lori goes to a dream therapist/psychologist. He is a “Jungian Analyst.” That was enough info for me to move on with the story, but no. The author has to go on and on with what a Jungian Analyst is and all about Carl Jung. It read like a college text book. It was boring and made me want to hurl my Kindle across the room.
But wait, there’s more! This Jungian Analyst then refers Lori to a woman who is also a Jungian but specializes in folklore and fairytales. Again, I could accept that and move on with the story. But we once again get pages of boring explanation of what witches are. I don’t want to read a bunch of text book crap in my fiction. I don’t care if this story was loosely based on a real story or not - I DON’T WANT A TEXTBOOK IN THE MIDDLE OF MY FICTION!!!!! Sorry, but once was bad enough, I didn’t need it twice.
The last few chapters jump from Ben’s POV to Lori’s so fast that it makes your head spin. Ben was in one place while Lori was in another, yet they were working toward the same goal. I understand that the author was trying to convey that these things were happening simultaneously, but it got confusing and I didn’t like it. I needed more detail about what was going on in each place. It felt too rushed.
I may look into some of this author’s other books. I wonder if info dumping is something she does in every one or if it was just this once. The overall story was very interesting.
J.R. Erickson writes a compelling thriller and mystery in Darkness Stirring which is based on a true story. Our main character Lori is in the woods one day with her friend who wears a little bell. They climb a tree but Lori can't get up and waits for her friend at the bottom. Her friend never comes down.
More than just a mystery this is about grief, trauma and how it can not only change your life but define it. I loved Lori, she was very realistic. Kind yet slightly scared of life and happy to just glide by. Until she hears about a very similar story that takes her to Ben who was a part of that story - another missing girl In the same forrest.
I loved how Lori wanted to look into the dispearances one way and Ben wanted to look into them from a different angle. It was a refreshing take on this kind of story and had me wondering what the correct one was going to be.
Filled with folklore, some I knew and some I didn't I found this easy to read. There were not any scary moments but more slightly creepy moments.
In the background Lori grows and character development is slowly happening. I loved this for her. Ben was an awesome character who seemed so solid. The reasons he did things were believable.
Thank you to the author for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Part mystery, thriller and folklore, with a creepy atmosphere and a touch of romance, this story has it all. Young girls go missing in the woods over a period of years under similar circumstances. Lori and Ben, two people with different opinions, team up to figure out exactly what happened. The setting of course is perfect and the characters are interesting. There's action, a small tough of gore and horror, but it's pretty mild. Just a good story that is hard to put down until you find out what happened.
This was a well written, fun thriller from start to finish. I listened to this on audio book (highly recommend) and it just sucks you in right from the start. Cannot wait to read more of Erickson's works.
This book made me start googling Northern Michigan to plan a visit. Trouble Spirits series makes the scenery come alive for me and now I want to see it in real life.
Another fantastic journey that J.R. Erickson has taken us on. I admittedly had to skip certain paragraphs that heavily dove into Lori’s eating disorder, but I don’t feel that doing so took away from the story for me. I was absolutely thrilled to have witches (especially over Dogman) and their various appearances throughout mythology added to this mystery! Witches are always a way to gain and keep my attention.
P.S. The extremely creepy true story snippet at the end gave me chills.
After reading the first book in this series, the author has only improved. Such a depth to detail and description. Based on strange but true paranormal/ mysterious deaths if horror is your genre then I’d definitely recommend!
Really, really, really freaking awesome read!!!! You think you know, but oh..... No you don't! Love this book and I will definitely be reading more by this author, as this is my first book by him.
Pretty Bev and plain Lori are 14 year old best friends who go into Manistee Forest but only Lori comes out and she is scarred for life. She goes to college she loses weight but still thinks of herself as a nobody. I could so relate to her in that respect. She hears a story of another girl who went missing in the same way. She meets Ben, a friend of the other girl, and together they start to look into the vanishings. Are they supernatural as Lori believes or did a man do it like Ben suspects? Will they get out of the investigation alive? I loved this book. It was definitely a page turner that kept me guessing. The ending was a surprise to me and very satisfying. Ms Erickson has a way with words that makes reading her books easy and enjoyable. She lives in northern Michigan and makes the area come alive in her books. She gave me an ARC of this book, for which I am very grateful. I look forward to more.
When young teen Lorraine was 14 years old, her along with her best friend, Bev went into the forest exploring. But ironically, the last thing Lorraine remembers is that Bev had climbed the tree and she never saw her come back down. After calling for her best friend Bev, she runs back home to her mother and tells them that Bev is missing. After several weeks of searching high and low, Bev is never found. Then years later, Lorraine is still bothered by her best friend Bev's disappearance. She always blames herself and wakes up with constant with nightmares. When Lorraine hears of another story much like hers, she contacts the boy that was involved to get answers. When the two get together, they search and find that there are four other cases, just like theirs. Very determined to find answers, they begin by contacting the other families of the missing girls. As they follow though, they eventually figure out what was happening and why. Very good storyline, thriller like, great read.
2.5 Stars. I liked the idea of the story, with young girls vanishing into thin air, but it's rather clunky. The police never linked the disapearances. Really? The one big suspect was never a suspect, even though there are links to him knowing the families involved, because his mother gave him an alibi. Really?
Then we have loads of padding and stories/text book writing of witches and it goes on and on. I skipped those bits as they didn't add anything and were quite frankly, boring.
Lots of padding about Lori's food disorder and her returning to the equivalent of an AA meeting, for over-eaters. Didn't really seem necessary.
OK it's fiction, but it seems to be written for teenagers who believe that a wicked witch lives in a cottage/tree and eats young girls! Hmmm. There is also the 'Dogman'. Half man half dog. who supposedly roams the woods. Yes, really! And the actual human who also had his fair share of murdering girls.
How many more strange things/people can roam in the woods and kidnap/murder/eat young girls? So much going on at once.
The ending was rushed. Too much unnecessary padding. A bit daft and whimsical.
I really enjoyed this story very much. I live in Michigan and I’ve been to every city and I live 3/4 of an hour from Soaring Eagle Casino, so I was extremely excited reading this book! I love love love this authors books based in Michigan. Thank you SO MUCH for using our state I will always and forever read your books. I couldn’t put this book down, I love Lorraine so much. Her struggle with over eating hits close to home. Her victory over it offers so much hope for me, my deepest thanks. I loved her Mom and Grandmother, they were such amazing supportive,loving women. Great characters. The super natural element was creepy but credible. It had me looking up “hag” stories in Michigan especially in Manistee National Forest! I personally own many books on Hauntings in Michigan and paranormal activity in Michigan. So you can imagine how this book caught and kept my full attention. I’m anxiously awaiting your next book as iv read all the books in your other series and plan on a trip to Traverse City to visit the asylum there!
Based on a true story, Darkness Stirring by J.R. Erickson is a fast-paced, very creepy thriller. At age fourteen, Lorraine Hicks’s life is devastated by the disappearance of her best friend. Fifteen years later, Lorraine is at a camping trip when one of the people there starts telling a very similar story, one that awakens what has haunted her since that night many years past. When she starts looking into the similarities, Lorraine is convinced that they are linked and joins up with Ben whose sister’s friend disappeared under similar circumstances. What evil lives in the Matinee National Forest will be uncovered as Lorraine and Ben delve into this mystery. The characters are well-developed, and the story is an engaging thriller that is impossible to put down. Another great hit for J.R. Erickson. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
When Lorraine was 14 years old, her and her best friend, Bev went into the forest exploring. The last thing Lorraine remembers is the Bev had climbed the tree and she never seen her come back down. After calling for her friend, she runs back home to her mother and tells them that Bev is missing. Afters weeks of searching she is never found.
Now years later. Lorraine is still bothered by Bev's disappearance. She always blames herself and wakes with nightmares. When she hears of another story much like hers, she contacts the boy that was involved in this one. Getting together, they search and find that there are 4 other cases, just like thiers. Determined to follow though and find out what his happening, the two contact other family of the missing girls.
Before this series began, I got a taste with the author’s short story, Tanglewood Drive. That short story is the start of this full-length novel. I was intrigued with the story. Finally, the meal I’ve wanted since that first taste is here.
At fourteen, Lori and her best friend, Bev, take a walk into the woods to watch the sunset. Only one of them comes out. Bev is gone without a trace.
Nearing thirty, Lori suddenly has to face the long ago trauma that changed the course of her life. Can she finally make peace? Discover what really happened to her friend and free herself to live the life she desires?
What lurks in the murky woods of the Matinee National Forest? Explore Michigan’s most chilling legends!
If you’re all like me, you’re probably always searching for the next great horror read and novelist, and are constantly being left feeling disappointed.
I stumbled across this author due to my Kindle app suggesting one of her books, and I started it with minimal expectations. Figured it would be a mind number and time passer.
Well, two books into the series, I am IMPRESSED. This is an author of the level of Grady Hendrix or King.
Wonderfully researched, plausible and great for mystery lovers. I usually can figure out “who’s done it” within a few chapters, but the twists in these leave you guessing, along with some genuinely chilling moments.
I’m going to finish these, and then start reading her other books. Very surprised she hasn’t gotten a major book deal yet.
So far in this series, this is my favorite mystery. It had my favorite element in paranormal mystery. I can't tell you, because it'll spoil it. But trust me, anyone who loves paranormal mysteries will love this book! It's about two friends going into the woods. One comes out, one disappears. Years later the survivor tries to move on with her life, but the mystery of the disappearance of her best friend still haunts her. Then truths start coming out that will blow you away. And the total mystery is epic! I can't suggest this book enough! And what's even cooler, it's based on a real true crime case. Yeah it's totally a fiction story, but the fact it was inspired by a real story makes it even more interesting!
Darkness Stirring by J. R. Erickson takes us on a journey both into the depths of human depravity and into the eerie world of the unexplainable. Based on a true story, this tale will give you goosebumps from start to finish. The storyline is fast-paced and very well written, filled with missing young teens, intrigue, mystery and unexplainable occurrences. The characters are well developed and engaging. Ben and Lori will steal your hearts as they desperately look for answers, even putting their own safety on the line. Overall, this is a thriller that will keep you up reading well past the time when things go bump in the night!
I loved this terror filled thriller based on a true story. As a teenager, Lori and her best friend, Beverly go camping in the woods. Beverly disappeared and Lori never saw her again. This story takes place fifteen years after this event. Erickson has an amazing way of drawing the reader into her stories and make you feel like you are right there experiencing everything the characters are feeling. My heart was pounding several times and I kept turning the pages so I wouldn't miss out. If you enjoy stories by Cheryl Bradshaw, you will love Darkness Stirring. I can't recommend Erickson's books highly enough. I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review.
Two girls go into the woods and only one comes out. This happened to Lori and it haunts her for years. Her best friend went into the woods with her and was never seen again. Lori researches historical files and finds this has been happening every 5 years. Combine the creepy woods with a creepy guy in the neighborhood and you don't know who or what is making the girls disappear.
This was based on a true story of a skeleton found in a tree. Interesting story, some good characters and well written. It makes you want to get to the end to find out why the girls have gone missing and what happened to them.
Darkness Stirring is probably my favourite book so far from the Troubled Spirits series so far although I'm looking forward to the new one in December. Being Kindle unlimited reads, they are free to read if you subscribe.
I enjoyed this one more as I felt the connection of Lori and Ben. I liked how their friendship grew from a shared trauma and also how different they were. I do love a horror story and witches are always fun to read about.
I can't fault this one at all and felt it was a good quick read and would highly recommend it. Don't expect massive scares (Like Richard Laymon, Graham Masterton etc) but do expect atmospheric settings and good writing.